Can you take RCIA classes online?

“RCIA” is an acronym for “Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.” It is first of all a rite and therefore cannot be done online. Secondly, the RCIA is a process and not a class.

Sometimes we think of becoming a Christian as simply a matter of making an intellectual assent to a body of beliefs. This notion leads us to the understanding that we need to be instructed in a school-like structure about Christianity just as we might be instructed about mathematics. While there is an important intellectual component to Christianity, becoming a Christian is much more about practicing a counter-cultural lifestyle. The early Church called it “The Way.” One learns to live as a Christian by living with and imitating other Christians. That cannot be done online, just as learning to play baseball or learning to be a member of an orchestra cannot be done online. You have to be there.